Roy Benson (January 17, 1914 – December 6, 1977) was a stage
magician born in Courbevoie in France. He was an accomplished musician. He is credited for Special Effects, having created the monster for the film ''
The Flesh Eaters
The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardi ...
'' (1964)
directed by his first cousin,
. He died of emphysema.
Magic career
He studied with
Nate Leipzig
Nate Leipzig (born Nathan Leipziger; May 31, 1873 – October 13, 1939) was an American vaudeville magician who performed in Europe and USA. In May 1938, Leipzig was elected president of the SAM (Society of American Magicians). Previous president ...
, creating the bell and bowl routine and elaborating the Chinese Sticks routine which is published in "Benson by Starlight".
This also describes Benson's Bizarre Bag (an egg bag variant), The Dice Box, Bell and Bowl (rice bowls), The Wines of Beelzebub and Hydrostatic Cravis (where a drinking glass is inverted without the contents spilling).
A photograph of Benson, signed and dedicated "To
Dai ernon Jeanne, Neepie in admiration and affection, Roy. 1946." was auctioned in January 2010.
[Photograph auction http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/6941247]
Publications
*Benson by Starlight. Published by Miracle Factory 2006 (Levent, Todd Carr). . )
*The Second Oldest Profession (republished within "Starlight")
*Benson on Magic (republished within "Starlight")
Chinese Sticks
(Also called Mora Wands after Silent Mora - Louis McCord). The method for the Chinese Sticks as well as a number of routines by magicians including Howard Hale, Aldo Colomini, Pete Biro, Joe Stevens and Charlie Miller is presented in the DVD "Chinese Sticks" published by Greater Magic Video Library.
[Chinese Sticks DVD http://gmvl.com/details.asp?id=85]
Benson elaborated his Chinese Sticks in "Starlight"
on The Pillars of Soloman and the Magic Bradawl, published in Hoffman's ''
Modern Magic
''Modern Magic'' by Professor Hoffmann (real name ''Angelo Lewis'') is a treatise in book form, first published in 1876, detailing the apparatus, methods and tricks used by the magicians and conjurors of that era. Hoffmann was considered to b ...
''.
[Hoffman's Modern Magic Page 330 (1876) https://archive.org/stream/modernmagic00hoffgoog#page/n346/mode/2up]
Benson Bowl
The Benson Bowl is a Cups and Ball routine popularised by Benson.
The method and routine is published in "Starlight"
and "Classic Secrets of Magic" by Bruce Elliott. The routine is included in the DVDs "Pat Page Spongeballs", "WGM Spongeballs",
[http://www.llpub.com/zenshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2313] "John Mendoza Vol 2",
[http://www.llpub.com/zenshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=&products_id=2351] "Steve Dacri Volume 3".
See also
* 1955 USA Television show "It's Magic" clip showing Chinese sticks and trick with salt shaker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOfzp4Wt-pE (Re-published in DVD http://miraclefactory.net/zenstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_19&products_id=17)
*http://www.illusionwiki.com/Roy_Benson
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Roy
1914 births
1977 deaths
French magicians
Academy of Magical Arts Performing Fellowship winners